While your oncologist focuses on treating your cancer, the palliative care team works to manage any cancer symptoms, treatment side effects, or other stressors you may face, she says.
Contact your health team for resources. After a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, you may need help with everything from managing your emotions to paying for treatment.
Members of your cancer care team can help you figure out what resources are available to you. Your team can consist of doctors, nurses, social workers, physical therapists, and occupational therapists.
For example, says Wethington, social workers can be very helpful.
“Social workers can help with anything from accessing resources when someone needs resources, understanding insurance, helping with equipment you may need to arrange at home, to providing supportive therapy and being a therapist,” she says.
Stay up to date with your aftercare. After completing a treatment, you may feel both relieved and anxious. Expect your doctor to keep an eye on your recovery with follow-up appointments and long-term monitoring. Ask them what schedule they suggest and stick to it.
Since ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at a later date, there is a good chance the cancer will come back at some point. When this happens, your doctor will create a treatment plan based on exactly where your cancer is, what treatments you’ve had before, and what your overall health is. Some people need to be turned on and off for years.
Keep copies of your medical records and health insurance claims. If you need to switch to a new doctor, it will make the transition easier.
There is no guarantee that your cancer will not return. Healthy habits like exercising, eating well, and reducing stress could help, says Wethington. But she says, “None of them are silver bullets.”
Figuring out how to live with ovarian cancer can be a steep learning curve. During all of this, Rouse says, she found the emotional journey most challenging.
“I figured out the physical things pretty quickly. It was the emotional aspect that took the most internal assessment to feel whole again, ”she says. “It’s best to take it one day at a time.”
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